Green Spotted Puffer hurt (Pics added)
 

I came home from J&L today to find my GSP has been stung by my carpet anemone. I guess it actually had a hold of him and he managed to escape and pull away. One side of him is not covered in welts, swollen and peeling off. He is swimming around ok but not using the fin on the side that was attacked.

I am very worried about him although they are probably the toughest fish I have ever owned (and my hands down favorite).

I would say most fish his size would not have been able to rip away from the anemone and if they did, I don't know how their skin would have looked! Being a puffer, he has incredibly tough skin. Needless to say, the carpet is outta here! Anyone interested? :D

Pictures coming...of all the times for my battery to be dead :sad:

lolo
 

Well, scared me there for a second I though you were hurt badly. Still not as bad but I hope the little guy gets better!
Levi

Don't know what his chances are. Seems to me if he made it this far he might be OK.

I've had fish get caught up in my ritteri before though, and although not initially killed, did eventually perish. :( Happened at least twice - once a pajama cardinal, once a doliatus rabbit (yeah, isn't that great, I wait >2 years to buy one and then he lives for 2 days in my tank because the anemone killed him. Needless to say that anemone was out of the tank at that point, 7 year ritteri or not that was the last straw :( ). These were smaller fish though and quite clearly covered in burns.

Anemones can be sometimes more trouble than they are worth. :(

Sorry to hear about your sick fish. If he makes it, and I'm sure he will, he might have some really cool scarring to make him look even tougher!

I am still waiting for my camera battery to charge and then I will get pics. The amazing thing is though that the more time that passes, the more of the skin is falling off and the skin underneath looks perfectly fine.

He is also starting to use his injured fin again.

This fish means SO much to me and loosing him would be devastating.

He is swimming like normal as if nothing ever happened, os maybe he will be fine. I can't believe his eye is ok...there are "burns" all around his head and eye but the eye looks untouched.

Both mine that I lost had the eye damage. You could tell they were blinded. :( I think they just basically lost the will to live, I think had they managed to hold out one more day they'd have pulled through.

Glad to hear your guy is looking better already. Hopefully that trend continues..

Yeah I am actually getting kind of annoyed because I want to take a picture of him while he looks like Two Face (from Batman) but the skin is shedding and he looks normal underneath...which of course is great but still.

I think if it were any other fish, they would not make it. But since Puffers have such tough, thick skin, he seems to have been able to handle the sting. From the looks of the burns, the anemone must have had him very tight and was starting to engulf him. He must have really struggled to get loose. When I have touched that anemone, it does not let go easily. Its hard to rip your finger off and it takes the skin with it.

Hmm...whenever the anemone tries to catch my hand, it is bits of the anemone that come off stuck to me (not the other way 'round).

My blonde naso has a habit of trying to steal food from the nem. I can always tell because he looks like he has herpes for about a day.

To my knowledge, my green carpet has never captured and eaten a healthy fish. I've seen it eat a large hermit crab, and my friend swears he saw it eat a large serpent star...but no fish. At this point, it could be that the clowns scare potential meals away.

Sounds like your friend will be just fine. Maybe he learned that he isn't indestructible!

Yeah I have no idea what kind of anemone it even is. I tried to get an ID for along time on here and RC with no luck. No one seems to know.

It is ridiculously sticky though and I have watched it eat healthy fish. I have also watched it spit back out a large hermit shell. It eats anything. It even ate a piece of monti cap that fell into it. About two days later it spat the cap frag back out which was completely white of course by then.

I think your right that he will be fine. I think I may be able to take some pics now.

So I guess I overreacted...maybe hurt BADLY was not accurate but at the time, it looked bad. Now it looks 10 times better. Most of the skin has already come off and underneath looks great. Amazing little fish these guys are!

Its so hard to get a pic of him because the tangs crowd the glass :rolleyes: as soon as you get within a few feet of the tank.

This gives you an idea of his size...hes still quite small. He is also very dull since the incident, usually he is bright green...poor guy!

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r...Newer253-1.jpg

And the stings...you can see where all the welts were. He was actually swollen at first too but the swelling is mostly gone. Too bad my camera was dead when I first noticed it.

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r...h/Newer238.jpg

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r...h/Newer239.jpg

Here you can see his "good" side. Also in the background is one of the small carpet anemones. I don't think this one stung him. Its too small.

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r...h/Newer245.jpg

Imo, that fish is going to be fine. Correct me if Im wrong, but puffers can shed a lot of mucus for a fish right? That is probably what you are seeing peeling off, rather than actual skin (although im sure he felt the actual sting, thus leading to welts/sweling and an escape response). Are GSPs toxic? might want to think about water changes if they are... i know a lot of puffers secrete toxins when they are stressed enough.

They can shed a LOT of mucus but I have seen that before and I don't think this is that. Its actually flaking off in pieces. I caught some in a net and removed them just now...seems like skin to me. Its hard to tell in the pics but his skin underneath is a slightly different color as well. Kind of like how peoples skin is if you loose a layer...I could be wring though.

They are somewhat toxic but only to eat. No puffers can actually secrete toxins as far as I know. Just the close relative, box fish. They just have toxins in some their organs and can be lethal if ingested. I am pretty sure the secretion of toxins is a rumor. I have had some extremely stressed puffers in tanks over the years and they never kill tanks with toxins.

I could be wrong though...

I agree with you gsp...i dont think puffers can secrete toxin. however, wild caught puffers such as freshwater south american puffers do have toxins in their skins. I remember a fellow in riverfront did not know he had a small cut in his hand and took out a dead SA puff and he had a mild reaction...numbness from the same hand up to the shoulder. It went away after a few hours.

Jonah

Js

I would like to suggest that you start soaking the food in selcon and garlic extract for the next little while to bump up its immunity to any possible pathogens in the tank.

I actually do that already but I will add even more for a bit. Thanks.

I'm glad your fish is ok, it's horrible when they don't make it.

OMG!!! The title of this post scared me half to death! Although I was relieved to see your fish was hurt, I know how important the little guy is to you. I am so glad that he is just fine. You have had some pretty rotten losses and this one would have been awful. I'm so glad he made it, and your carpet nem is going right away. I might have been mad enough to throw it in the garbage, even though it is not the nem's fault for doing what it does I suppose.

I am so gald your GSP is okay!!!

Oh I considered the blender when I saw what it had done to Don Juan. I was more sad then ****ed though.

Tonight he actually seems to be really stressed. I am kind of worried again. His skin looks better but he is breathing rather hard and won't leave a corner of the tank.

:cry:

Wow, that is a major sting! I'm sure he'll pull through though Justin, they are tough little buggers! Maybe turn down the flow in the tank so he doesn't have to work as hard?

I know you won't be sleeping tonight... Maybe try some snacks here and there to see if you can cheer him up. I don't have any advise for you, since I am always going to you for it instead. I am sending good karma your way, you certainly deserve it.

Well all of a sudden things are not looking too good. His eye has gone completely cloudy and he can't seem to swim anymore. I put him in my refugium where its much calmer but he still just floats around. I have a bad feeling about this now.

There is not too much I can do at this point I don't think.

I actually thought his eyes were sunken too but now I realize that his whole body is swollen.

Aw man that sucks, I don't think there's anything you can do but wait it out unfortunately.

I recently lost a GSP I'd had for 12 years, he just couldn't feed right any more. I was surprised how bummed I was, I see hundreds of fish every week but there is something about puffers that makes them more "pets" than fish.

Hope it works out.

Oh no! I really hope he pulls through, it really sucks loosing a fish. Especially one of your favorites.

Am a m so SORRY GSP. After all you have had to deal with with fish losses, I cannot believe you have to go through this again!!! I am hoping your little guy makes it, he has such a cute little name too.

Hopefully he is just healing and maybe he is not moving much since his skin is burnt and it hurts to do so... We all know swelling is a healing response, so maybe he just needs a day or two heal. I guess I am thinking it would be like a sunburn to him, so we all can relate to what that is like. Is there anything you can put in his water to help his slime coat by any chance.

Poor guy... Now i hope the mini nem doesnt try to eat my fish. :surprise:

Yeah man I hope not either! What do you have in there?

frogfish and a blenny

So he didn't make it. I just don't think he could overcome all the stings. He was completely swollen last night and dead when I woke up early this morning.

There have been a few times recently I had considered tearing my tank down because of one problem or another but each time he was the reason I didn't. Giving him up was never an option, so this really sucks.

I am so mad at myself because after the nem ate my small fish I was going to sell it but for some reason kept it. I figured it would not be able to catch any of the big fish I had left including the puffer. The problem I guess was that he sleeps in the sand and is not a very strong swimmer...

He he is as a little guy a few years back...

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r...h/DSCN1615.jpg




:sad:

Yeah I would be careful. Just watch to make sure they don't get too close. They should know to stay away but some fish don't seem to understand. That little one you have though, I don't think actually ate any fish. Its the bigger one that has. Just be careful if it gets much bigger. I was feeding them silversides and they grow fast, so you may not want to feed it too often.

He was a beautiful fish. Sorry for your loss man that really sucks.

Very sorry to hear. :(

I am so very sorry for your loss GSP... Please don't walk away from the hobby. You have too much to contribute, and a wonderful home for whatever fish is blessed to get you as an owner.

I feel so badly for you, I wish there was something I could say or do...

Oh Im not walking away at all. Never even considered it. Just been a bad day...

That sucks. So sorry.

Sorry to hear GSP... He was a nice looking fish!

:cry: Sorry for your loss :cry:

That's terrible, and very sad.

man, that really sucks; i was really hopeful that he would pull through. well, im glad you're not going to pull out of the hobby.

Thanks everyone! It has been kind of rough to be honest but thats part of this hobby. He was with me for quite a long time and being a puffer was so friendly and lovable.

I hate how he went though. Must have been painful...terrible way to go at the very least.